The Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Matthew 25:31-46 “An Inheritance Prepared for You, from the Foundation of the World”
November 16, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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O almighty, eternal and merciful God, by Your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You established the kingdom of grace for us in Your holy Church here on earth, that we might believe the forgiveness of our sins, since You are a God who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: We beseech You, graciously forgive us all our sins; through the same, Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 165)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and say to you on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” dear fellow redeemed:
[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. As we hear the ominous sounds of judgment day, it is hard to believe this is a day of rejoicing. This is something we can’t fathom, can’t even imagine, standing with everyone who ever lived and existed in the very presence of God. And as we are in the presence of God, we will see all the thousands and thousands of angels, with Jesus sitting as King before the throne. What a sight it will be. It is hard for us, who know our sins that work to accuse us, to think that this will be a joyful sight. Jesus tells us it is right in His teaching of the great day of judgment, the day where you will see with your own eyes an inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world!
These very Words of Christ are fulfillment of prophecy. The Old Testament prophets were waiting to hear of such a great day. One of the prophets would have a vision of exactly what Jesus is now proclaiming. Daniel writes, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14). Over five hundred years later and Jesus, the Son of Man is about to sit on His glorious throne. The cross and resurrection are at hand. With the completion of His work, this is what the whole world has to look forward to. Jesus on His throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And as He passes judgment, He then will declare it before all as “He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.”
As Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead, the initial judgment has already taken place. For many, it has taken place when they died as we know, we either go to heaven or hell. In our text we have everyone from every time and every nation gathered now to hear the public judgment. There is no hiding and there are no redoes. With the judgment already taken place, for some this will be a public vindication of faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, that their faith was not in vain. Their King is before them on His throne. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ For the others, their lack of faith in Christ is revealed. “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
As many hear what Jesus has to say and believe that this reveals how mean God is, we still ask the question, how do we avoid being placed on Jesus’ left? How do we recognize Jesus in the world around us? Jesus repeatedly reveals how we can end up on His left. He does so early in His ministry proclaiming, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18). The message of Christ has always been, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” For in repentance, the Gospel in a nutshell is revealed. God in love sent His Son and only two things can be done, believe in Him or do not.
But Pastor, what about all the things Jesus just listed off to the sheep and then to the goats? Where Jesus tells us our failings to care for Him, to fail these, stems from one important thing. By not showing love, we show unbelief. “Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ As we are to know that we are to show love to all people, Jesus points out how much more it is to take care of those who are not only your neighbor, but your brother. Jesus’ family, those who believe in Him will be in great need, and without love, “And these will go away into eternal punishment.” To have faith in God means to have action in life. And as we know all that we are supposed to do, we know how quickly our action can switch from love to hate. We can’t shake this problem. Our actions reveal how easy it is for us to stand condemned before the judge, the King. In our text the judgment has happened. And while we all know that deep down we should be on the left, Jesus tells you, you are one of the sheep.
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ How do those who follow Jesus know that this? Are we sure we will be numbered as a sheep in the flock on the right? Jesus reveals how we have inherited this kingdom and are blessed. It is through Him and His work. We heard in the beatitudes how our inheritance comes through persecution for being righteous. And while we can’t be righteous on our own, Jesus clothes us in His. To be a sheep is to see the life of the Shepherd lived out in our place as St. Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).
From the beginning, God knew you. He knew you and wanted to save you. And knowing He wanted to save you, He had your inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world. He does it all. He prepared it and then to publicly reveal to you and the world this is true, He came down and took on the wrath and punishment we deserved on the cross. He tells you that it isn’t based on what you do because of your failings. He will do it because of His great love. And while it was two thousand years ago since this great day, you then see it in the mark of your holy baptism remembered in confession. A mark on you where Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Through His redeeming work you are saved. And since He does it all for you, you know for certain you will stand on His right. Condemnation can only come from your rejection of Him. Jesus’ Work is to make you His own with His work, caring for those who are in need without a second thought. And since He is there for you, St. Paul writes, Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Labor that reveals love for your brother, love for your Lord, and His love to take you into eternity.
This forever love is what you hold on to as you until that great day of judgment. The devil is not kind with those who follow Jesus. After Jesus’ ascension to His glorious judgment seat, they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison (Acts 5:18). And those who followed Jesus, they brought things to those who were in prison. They were taken care of. And as the text says, you are seeing how people care for Jesus because of Jesus. There will never be any room for you to get yourself into heaven. Instead, with joy you see your Savior who takes away all your sins and is with you the entire way as we soon hear in the definition of His very name. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us) (Matthew 1:23). With another church year getting ready to start, it is at the end of the year where we see its culmination. An end that feels not deserved, yet through the work of Christ, you see the jewel of your inheritance. His kingdom forever because He judges you not guilty. A verdict you see with the lamb of God shedding His blood on the cross for you. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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